Should Pat White choose Football or Baseball?

Pat White made a name for himself playing football for West Virginia University. At one time, he held 14 school and NCAA records. He won four bowl games as the signal caller for the Mountaineers, including two BCS victories.

Although known for his successes on the gridiron, White excelled in the diamond during high school, earning second-team All-American status as a pitcher and outfielder. The New York Yankees drafted him in the 2003 MLB Draft. He went in to get drafted three other times while at WVU, although he was playing at a very high level on the gridiron.

Earlier last week, reports surfaced of White making an appearance at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL in an effort to re-acquaint himself with NFL coaches and front office types. No word has come that his efforts proved fruitful, but White’s active week raises the question: if he receives interest from an NFL team, should he choose football over baseball?

White has been training for the past few months, getting himself into baseball shape, which is a little different than getting into football shape. The Marlins made moves during the offseason to completely overhaul their roster. He told us he will play in the outfield if he plays baseball. If he plays well in the minor leagues, one could foresee White getting a call-up to the Major League roster.

White has seen the rise of the zone-read offense in the NFL over the past two seasons behind dynamic quarterbacks such as Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. At 26-years old, some have proclaimed White as too old to get back into the league. Age is only relative if your body cannot hold up to the rigors of the NFL. He is certainly healthy and fresh after being out of sports for a year.

So, with a contract offer in hand from the Marlins, what do you think White should do if he receives an invite to NFL OTA’s?

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3 Comments

He has to take it, he has too much potential not to, but he has to work on putting bulk on his frame as well as his passing. I’m sure he still has most of his speed and quickness as well as a good head on his shoulders. I will be rooting for him either way.

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